February 2007 - Home Automation Part 1 - page 2
Motorized Shades:
 Home theater fans already appreciate the value of motorized window coverings programmed to automatically lower when you cue up a movie in your entertainment room, but why limit that functionality to the theater? Motorized shades are often a crucial part of a complete whole-house lighting solution, as with the Sivoia QED shades integrated into Lutron’s Homeworks system, or temperature-control solution, as with Control 4. But again, you can always start with something more basic, like a few remote-controllable shades that help tame the sun in the bedroom or dining room. Lest we forget that porches, patios, and balconies are also part of the home, Somfy supplies a wide range of motorized exterior shades and awnings that help protect you from the elements when sitting, dining, or entertaining outdoors.
* Companies to look at: Somfy, Lutron, Vantage, Draper
Security:
Security cameras have come a long way; your home no longer has to look like Fort Knox for you to enjoy the peace of mind that comes from a well-conceived security system. Sleek little cameras from GE, Panasonic, and Niles can transmit video—be it from your front porch or your baby’s bedroom—to your TV, computer monitor, or video-enabled touch panel. For a simpler solution, try a few strategically placed motion sensors that can trip an alarm or tap into lighting controls. Advanced features include the ability to monitor the devices remotely via a PDA or laptop, or even receive a phone call or email to alert you of detected motion.
* Companies to look at: General Electric, HAI, Niles, Panasonic, DSC
Screen Masking:
 When you’re looking for that added bit of immersion from your front-projection theater system, you may want to incorporate an automatic masking system that, with the touch of a button, tailors the screen’s aspect ratio, via curtains or panels, to better frame the material on the screen, eliminating unused space or black bars on the screen material itself. Most of the major HT screen manufacturers sell automatic masking systems that you can control with your HT controller or touch panel. You can select a masking system that deals only with horizontal or vertical bars or a four-way system that perfectly frames any aspect ratio. Kaleidescape and Stewart have taken this one step further by developing a masking system that automatically shapes the screen depending on the exact content you’ve cued up on the Kaleidescape player.
* Companies to look at: Stewart Filmscreen, DaLite, Vutec, Draper, Screen Research
 Appliances:
This category has only recently begun to gather steam, and LG is leading the charge with its line of automated refrigerators, washing machines, and dryers. LG has partnered with Exceptional Innovations’ Life/ware system to produce an environment in which the washer and dryer notify you, via TV, computer monitor, or touchscreen, that the cycle is finished. It’s conceivable in the near future that your refrigerator, by monitoring the contents contained therein, could create a grocery list for you.
* Companies to look at: LG, EI’s Life/Ware
Controlling the System
An automated home is only as smart as the interface that lets you control it. In the world of high-end home automation, consumers sometimes experience sticker shock when they see the price of control interfaces, like handheld controllers and in-wall keypads, and when they realize how much of the custom installer’s fee is devoted to programming said interfaces. Their instinct is to cut costs here, but trust me, you don’t want to shortchange yourself in this area to save a few bucks (okay, a few hundred bucks is a more apt phrasing). You could have the most sophisticated system of audio, lighting, and temperature control on earth, but it means little if the control mechanism is so restrictive or complex that you can’t or just don’t want to use it.
Complicating matters for manufacturers and installers is the fact that no two brains are wired exactly alike. A control interface that makes perfect sense to me may be thoroughly unintuitive to you. The challenge for manufacturers is to develop control systems that are sophisticated and flexible enough to accommodate a large scope of users. The challenge for the consumer is to decide which interface will make him or her the happiest over the life of their whole-house system. A good custom installer will thoroughly explain all of your control options and demonstrate the benefits you receive as you move up the ladder from entry-level to high-end control. In many cases, an advanced system will employ a combination of the following control interfaces for use throughout the home.
In-wall Keypads and Controllers:
 A basic in-wall keypad sports just a few hard buttons to perform common tasks, such as triggering lighting scenes, arming a security system, or using transport controls like play, stop, and pause for an audio system. The more you wish to customize the interface, the more you can expect to pay. Would you like more hard buttons with backlighting, a combination of hard buttons and an LCD screen, a fully custom-designed color touchscreen, or perhaps the ability to watch TV? The benefit of keypads is that they’re usually discrete, reliable, and incapable of getting lost in the sofa cushions. The drawback is that you must be able to cut holes in your walls, and many keypads require wired connections to the main controller, which means more work for the installer at a higher cost to you.
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